Book picks similar to
When the Chips are Down by Beth Rinyu


romance
contemporary-romance
favorites
beth-rinyu

The Perfect Stroke


Jordan Marie - 2016
    He wasn’t supposed to rock my world. CC Gray Lucas is everything I hate in a man. Cocky, rich, entitled and a player. He’s a pro athlete and his exploits are legendary—one of which was me. We had a one-night-stand. It was wild, passionate, exhilarating and a big mistake. Except maybe it wasn’t. Because the more time I spend with him and his crazy family, the more I want him to stay… But men don’t stay…do they? Gray The moment I saw Claudia Cooper again, other women ceased to exist for me. She’s smart-mouthed, tough-as-nails, and gorgeous. She’s perfect. I’m the man for her, the only man for her. She just doesn’t know it yet. I have a reputation for playing hard, fast and dirty. Love ‘em and Leave ‘em. What CC doesn’t know yet, Is that I'm not playing. I’m claiming her. Take a man who always gets what he wants, A woman who has learned not to want, A crazy mother and insane siblings… And oh yeah add in a skunk just to make things interesting— And you just might have The Perfect Stroke. WARNING: Don't go looking for golf in this book...but you may spot a birdie or two. Complete Stand Alone Novel with HEA inside. Please NOTE this book will say it ends at 50 some percent but in actuality is a FULL Length Novel. It just CONTAINS a 2nd BOOK (Unjustified Demands) FREE.

Falling into Infinity


Layne Harper - 2013
    A chance meeting with A&M’s star quarterback Colin McKinney changes everything. A friendship between the two grows over time and blossoms into a powerful love affair. Charlie and Colin must learn to cope with his transition to playing professional football, the crushing attention of the media, and constant demands of his fans. At the same time, she’s struggling with how her dream of attending medical school will fit into their already stressed relationship and Colin’s new life. Falling Into Infinity asks the question is just loving someone enough to make a relationship work?

Don't Lie to Me


Stacey Lynn - 2013
    What do you do when the man you love leaves, and the only man you’ve wanted since is the one you can’t have?When Emma’s first love walked away after learning she was pregnant, she was forced to pick up the pieces, re-evaluate her priorities, and change the course of her dreams all for the sake of her son, who became the only one who mattered.It also meant taking a job with Jack McMillan; powerful, sexy, controlled, and CEO of McMillan Holdings. Emma has spent the last several years keeping her dreams and fantasies of Jack to herself, but one night, and one encounter, changed everything.Once the walls between them are dropped and the truth is laid bare, will Jack and Emma’s new relationship be able to survive? When they are forced to confront their pasts, will they learn to finally put their trust in someone else, or will the lies that are told destroy them both?

King of Code


C.D. Reiss - 2017
    Step by step, and for every step she'll unlock a piece of his system.Kissing unlocks a partition.Touching unlocks another.Using your mouth to…How far is this crazy woman going to go?They hate each other. They can't keep away from each other. They're decoding each other with every step, until all Harper's secrets are revealed, and Taylor risks losing his heart as well as his company.

Sway


Adriana Locke - 2016
    Power, prestige, and plenty of women, the dapper politician’s life is pretty phenomenal. But in the midst of the biggest campaign of his life, he needs to focus. The last thing he can afford is a distraction.ALISON BAKER is a work-in-progress.As a single mother to HUXLEY, she’s rebuilding life on her terms. She’s focused on family, faith, and a future for her son that can’t be taken away. Putting her child first means not being careless, no matter what. A chance encounter forces Barrett and Alison to redefine what they really want out of life. But everything comes at a cost ... and sometimes, even for love, it’s a price too steep to pay.

Chasing the Stars


J.D. Rivera - 2014
    Not really. My life was the same revolving circle. We barely lived. We moved. We barely got by in a new place. Until we moved again. New school. New trailer park. Different day. Another beating.The first day of my senior year in high school, I was ready to give up. Ready to run far, far away and hope I would never be found. But I’m a smart girl. I knew it would never work. I had a plan. One I was so close to fulfilling. I could start over. Be a new person. Live without the “poor girl” and “trailer trash” labels attached to my back. I became guarded, living by my own rules. Rule number one: don’t worry about learning their names, I wouldn’t be around long enough for them to learn mine. But then, I met him. I tried to resist, tried to push away, make myself seem uninterested, but Hayes wouldn’t let me. He saw something in me and chased me until I finally gave in. We became friends — best friends. And then, we became more. My guard fell and I opened my heart, only for him to crush it in his bare hands. Hayes… Sex. Booze. Football. In that order. I’d never been the kind of guy who “did” relationships. They seemed pointless. Girls threw themselves at me, practically purred for me to seduce them. Why would I give that up? Why would I want more? But there was something about Mackenzie. Something different from all those other girls. She was someone I was willing to risk everything for. I didn’t care where she came from, or about her past. It didn’t matter that she lived on “the wrong side of town” and I was the rich kid “sitting on a gold mine”. Even more, those other girls didn’t matter anymore. Because they weren’t my Mac.

The Sins That Bind Us


Geneva Lee - 2016
    Not when I did my first line of cocaine. Not when I became a single mother. But I changed, and every decision I’ve made was to protect myself and my son from my weaknesses—and my past.Until Jude came along and made me question everything, even my own secrets. The sins I carry with me can never be discovered. Life handed me broken bits of people and left me to construct my own world, and it’s too fragile to take a chance on Jude Mercer.We write our own stories.We build our own prisons.We weave our own lies.We commit the sins that bind us.

Irresistibly Yours


Lauren Layne - 2015
      Hotshot sports editor Cole Sharpe has been freelancing for Oxford for years, so when he hears about a staff position opening up, he figures he’s got the inside track. Then his boss drops a bombshell: Cole has competition. Female competition, in the form of a fresh-faced tomboy who can hang with the dudes—and write circles around them, too. Cole usually likes his women flirty and curvy, but he takes a special interest in his skinny, sassy rival, if only to keep an eye on her. And soon, he can’t take his eyes off her.   Penelope Pope knows all too well that she comes off as just one of the guys. Since she’s learned that wanting more usually leads to disappointment, Penelope’s resigned to sitting on the sidelines when it comes to love. So why does Cole make her want to get back in the game? The man is as arrogant as he is handsome. He probably sees her as nothing more than a barrier to his dream job. But when an unexpected kiss turns into a night of irresistible passion, Penelope has to figure out whether they’re just fooling around—or starting something real.  Includes a special message from the editor, as well as an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

A Date with Fate


Tracy Ellen - 2012
    She’s twenty eight, owns a bookstore, and is one determined, control freak of a woman. She’s decided to take the entire weekend off to have some fun. Except Anabel’s unapologetically single and perfectly uncomplicated life is suddenly upside down with problems! The cheating love of her life is back in town. Her family is meddling in her personal business. An adulterous wife of a good friend has gone missing. She’s been targeted for death by a homicidal serial rapist. An evil aunt has gone fanatic. Her sociopathic cousin has stolen her gun. The macho police chief is driving her nuts. And one not-too-tall, deliciously dark, and definitely not handsome stranger is enticing her to break all her ironclad rules on dating in the most intriguing of ways. Strange things are happening in Northfield, Minnesota. But Anabel’s never met the challenge she won’t stare in the eye while daintily spitting sideways in the dirt. Will Anabel begin to believe that life is never simple, some rules are meant to be broken, and a certain mesmerizing complication may be worth the trouble--even if it kills her? (Adult Content)

Star Crossed


Jennifer Echols - 2013
    She grew up with nothing, and now she’s drawn to glitz, glamour, and a lighthearted lifestyle. She speaks her mind, so she’s just the tough cookie to tell stars the truth about how other people see them, even when they don’t want to hear it. But after six years at the top of her game, Wendy crosses the line. A star she was sent to save rebels against her and nearly gets her fired. To salvage her job, she must rehabilitate the career of a singing starlet with a penchant for posting inappropriate photos of herself and arguing online with her famous ex. Problem is, the ex is represented by Wendy’s arch nemesis from college, the hot and haughty Daniel Blackstone. And both stars are scheduled for a collision course on national television, broadcast live from Las Vegas.Daniel’s uneasy when he hears Wendy Mann from his firm’s most hated competitor has been brought in to revive the career of his client’s ex-girlfriend. Daniel must win at any cost. And if he has to seduce Wendy to smooth the way to their partnership, he’s willing to sacrifice himself for the cause. But Daniel doesn’t count on the scorching heat between them—and when they get to Vegas, all bets are off.

Work in Progress


B.J. Harvey - 2019
    He’s always wanted what his parents have: a good marriage, lots of kids, and financial security. He thought he’d have the first two with his ex-girlfriend while the third would come once he got his house-flipping business off the ground. When his ex doesn’t subscribe to his five-year plan, he makes Cook Brothers Construction his sole focus.Then he moves next door to April Williams, a sassy single mom he can’t stop riling up. Throw in her matchmaking mother-in-law, who’s set her sights on Jamie being April’s knight in a leather tool belt, and a house threatening Jamie’s sanity, and it should be a recipe for disaster, but Jamie wants this three-month project to last forever. That’s if he can stop being the neighbor from hell and prove to April he’s not just flipping a house — he wants to flip her heart.

Lost and Found


K.F. Breene - 2013
    She gets her life back on track in San Francisco with a job that has limitless potential.Unfortunately, to achieve her dreams, she must brave the star of the company; a charming and handsome salesman that isn’t used to the word no. Krista tries to run from him at every turn, but his pull continually sucks her back in; her hesitancy to trust the only thing saving her from being another notch on a bedpost.Sean never has to try with women. He's the type of guy to jump in with both feet, get bored, and sprint right back out. But when a geeky new hire stumbles through the company, befuddling him with a keen intellect he doesn’t expect, he starts to lose his way. Before he knows it, all his efforts are concentrated around trying to capture the interest of the only woman to run when he tries to deliver a line. As she opens up, so does he, landing him in a terrain as disconcerting as it is invigorating.word count: 99,000

Undertow


Elizabeth O'Roark - 2013
    It almost seems like enough until Nate Sullivan comes home. Nate – her childhood best friend, her first love. The boy who left without a trace one night and broke her heart. When their attraction threatens the future she and her parents have so carefully crafted, loyalties will be tested and secrets will be uncovered. Giving in may cost her everything. But how do you resist the only thing you’ve ever really wanted?

Bittersweet


Sarina Bowen - 2016
    True North is populated by the tough, outdoorsy mountain men that populate the Green Mountain State. They raise cows and they grow apples. They chop a lot of wood, especially when they need to blow off steam. (Beards are optional but encouraged.)If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the orchard.The last person Griffin Shipley expects to find stuck in a ditch on his Vermont country road is his ex-hookup. Five years ago they’d shared a couple of steamy nights together. But that was a lifetime ago. At twenty-seven, Griff is now the accidental patriarch of his family farm. Even his enormous shoulders feel the strain of supporting his mother, three siblings and a dotty grandfather. He doesn’t have time for the sorority girl who’s shown up expecting to buy his harvest at half price.Vermont was never in Audrey Kidder’s travel plans. Neither was Griff Shipley. But she needs a second chance with the restaurant conglomerate employing her. Okay—a fifth chance. And no self-righteous lumbersexual farmer will stand in her way.They’re adversaries. They want entirely different things from life. Too bad their sexual chemistry is as hot as Audrey’s top secret enchilada sauce, and then some.

Skater Boy


Kay Manis - 2013
    Avoiding surprises and keeping people at a distance is the only way she has to protect herself from the painful scars and shattered memories of her past. When Hindley is offered a new position at her prestigious Austin law firm as sports agent for pro skateboarder, Rory Gregor, she’s ready for the new challenge but completely unprepared for the man who captures her heart. Suddenly, Hindley is thrust into a world where protecting all their secrets could cost her everything; her family, her career, and maybe even her life. Professional skateboarder and X Games royalty, Rory Gregor knows what it’s like to be at the top. But after two years of bad decisions and one-night-stands, he’s having to make a comeback he never anticipated. Hiring a new agent may be what his team thinks he needs to rebuild his career, but what if it costs him his heart in the process? Just when he thinks he’s posed for a comeback, secrets from his past threaten to ruin his chance for gold and a new love. In a sport where trust means everything, this time... it may not be enough.